Pirates of the Caribbean: Deal with the SeaDevil
by TritonAuthor24
Summary: This be the beginnings of the greatest pirate you have heard of: Jack Sparrow. How he acquired the 'Pearl, how he met Dalma, Barbossa, Davy Jones, and a great many others. Why did Jack become a pirate is answered. Please read and review! Enjoy!
1. Chapter One: A Map For A Hat

This story tells the tale of young Jack Sparrow and how he became the man he was in the movies. Enjoy!

Chapter One – A Map For A Hat

The ocean at night was always something remarkable to witness: the way it seemed to go on forever beyond the horizon, as if you could sail off the edge of it and never return but, rather, be presented with a world born anew from your very own imagination. Total freedom. Complete and total freedom. That's what the ocean offered, yet only with a ship as a man's vessel could he achieve that open feeling, the salt air in his mouth feeding his hunger, and the cold splashes of water when it hit upon deck. For twenty-six year old Jack Sparrow, it was all he dreamed about.

Sparrow grabbed the small, black hipflask of his and drowned the last bit of water he had. He hated water: It was refreshing at times but often for him, retained too mundane of a taste. He longed for something stronger. And while tea was somewhat stronger, it lacked a feeling to it. He longed for a drink that took on a life of its own and gave him a new one. He had yet to find it.

Throwing the hipflask aside, he returned to the task at hand: mapmaking. He was working on a particularly fine map, expertly being made for years by him – it was his most prized possession. It was made entirely of cloth, had a bright red backing, and the entire Caribbean carefully plotted out. He had been working on it for nearly four years' time and kept it tucked safely away underneath one of his top drawers, so that his boss, Julio Denver, wouldn't see it and put it up for sale.

It was late at night and Jack could hear the waves crashing particularly hard against the port where he worked.

Jack was working on his map again, coinciding its locations with that of a very old and battered map he had been given by Denver's elder brother, Alex, who had said it to be worth a great amount and that one day he would return for it. Jack had thought Alex to be mad as had been said many a times by Julio, but Jack had taken a liking for the map and decided to mimic its looks. The map itself was framed in a large glasscase and Julio had made it clear it was not for selling. As Jack cross-referenced the islands – all of which he had known from memory of drawing them hundreds of times – he noticed something in his calculations: on Alex's map there was an extra island.

"That can't be right," he said, looking it over very carefully with his fingers, shaking his head. Deciding to check it up, he grabbed a nearby map from the shelves and cross-referenced. He was right, Alex's map was wrong. Or was it? He squinted closely at the map, something he was told never to do by Julio. Such things were said to make a man behave strangely, but Jack knew such to be foolish superstition. "Isle de Muerta," he mumbled to himself. That was what the island had been called. He checked again on the other map and could swear he saw the outline of an island erased. "That's very interesting," he said.

Suddenly he heard a crash from the backroom of the store. "Jack! Jack! Run for it! Take the map with you!" It was Julio's voice. Jack grabbed both his map and the old one, and dived under a dusty old desk in the corner.

"What's this, eh?" came a gritty old voice from above. "A store? Look, Ern, a store of nuttin' but maps! What're da chances. Eh?"

"Shut up, Lou, you old fool!" hissed another voice, which Jack guessed to be Ern's.

"The both of ye shut up!" came a very deep voice. Jack knew this one. It was the voice of the man that had accompanied Alex to their shop: a man by the name of Viktor Gorell. He was tall, broad-shouldered, bald, and looked like he could tear any other man to shreds. "Wha's de boy's name?"

"Jack Sparrow," said Lou, with a glee.

Jack gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes in annoyment. "_Cartographer._ Cartographer Jack Sparrow," he whispered to himself.

Another group of footsteps came into the room. "Did ye find it?" came Alex's voice. They all mumbled their 'no's. "Then he's left already, c'mon, the cap's waitin'."

"But we haven' found a map yet," Ern argued.

"I said c'mon or I'll put ye in the floor and then toss ye out to Davy Jones's locker, where you can spend nigh an eternity serving the damn sea devil."

"I don' wan' dat," said Ern, striding to the door and leaving the room, rambling on in fear of Davy Jones. The rest followed and when Jack was sure they had gone, he got up.

Looking around, he checked for sight of anyone, though not a soul remained. "Julio?" Jack called. He went into the back room and set his eyes upon a dying Julio, shot in the chest. "Julio! Don't worry, I'll help you!"

He ran to the nearby table and grabbed a sword and a dagger. He bent down and moved to cut the bullet out, but Julio stopped him. "Jack," he croaked. "Jack, listen to me. They're after the map. It leads to… to, never mind what it leads to. Jack, Jack, take my boat and get yourself as far away from here as you can. They'll be comin' after ye, Jack. Keep a low profile. Serve on any ship you can find and make a livin'. Remember what I taughtcha, Jack, the best way to keep your enemies offguard is to make them think your not as smart as ye are. Always remember that, Jack."

And with that, Julio Denver died, most likely killed by his own brother. Jack sobbed great tears for several minutes, but a loud roar of thunder brought him back to reality. The only father figure he had ever known was dead. The only person he had ever cared about was dead, and the only person he _would_ ever care about was dead. Never, he swore to himself, would he let himself become attached to another so strongly.

And he would take on a different persona. One of strange behaviors and characteristics. As he got up, he spotted a leather tricorne laying on the floor. It had been Julio's. He grabbed his map and tied it around his long, flowing hair, and put the tricorne atop it. Something was missing. He needed to pass for a pirate. Ah! He took small beads and braided his hair, beard as well. It took him what felt like many hours to do such extensive change. When he was done, he fairly enjoyed the way he looked. It was indescribably different than his former appearance. Barely recognizable.

He stepped out into the cold and the rain, leather hat on his head, sword at his side, he walked over to Julio's boat. Striding into it, he glanced at the old map in its case. Releasing the boat from the dock, he began to sail towards the most infamous pirate port, where he hoped to find a ragtag group of men to join: Tortuga.


	2. Chapter Two: To Be A Pirate?

Chapter Two: To Be A Pirate?

Jack had been on the sea for over a day now and had become increasingly unsatisfied with his decision. He shouldn't have left Julio there and more importantly, what was the reason for becoming a pirate?

He had contemplated sailing back, but had turned away from the idea, feeling that Jack Sparrow never regretted a decision, except for one: not going to help Julio. For all he knew, the master cartographer might have still been alive. And for that reason, he had vowed to himself never again to let his guard down, and that he would exact his revenge upon Alex Denver.

The more he thought of it, the more he felt he shouldn't have cried. "We don' cry, Jack," came his father's voice, floating back into his memory. "Men don' cry! Real men anyways"

"I am a real man," Jack said aloud, to the lonely sea. "Are ye really?" came his father's voice. Jack looked all around, eyes open, his feet unbalanced. He tripped and fell onto the deck. "Some man ye are," his father said. "I'm ashamed of ye, Jack. Didn't ye ever wanta falla in me footssteps? Naw, ye're too yella anyways. Ye would never make it in a real man's job. The toughest men are sailors, lad Jack. Can you sail? Blimey, of course not! Ye're more a bonnie lass than a man, Jack. See, I'm a pirate hunter. I catch pirates for the Royal Navy on Letters of Marque. 'Tis a man's man's job. I tell ye, ye ever become a pirate, I'll catch ya."

Jack's father had been nothing of a real father and Jack had left him in the dust. Few weeks later, Jack found out the old man had been killed hunting the most well-known pirate ship there was to know: _The Black Pearl_.

Yet Jack's father had left a legacy: he had sunk the _Black Pearl_, sending it down to Davy Jones's Locker, where it lay forever. What a ship that must have been, Jack had thought to himself many times. He had contemplated that exact conversation over and over in his mind for years. Just the one had really stuck out in Jack's mind. _Ye ever become a pirate, I'll catch ya_. "I don't think so," Jack had thought of saying hundreds of times. He had thought up the perfect retaliatory sentence to his father, if the circumstances ever were pirate vs pirate-hunter. "You will always remember the day that you almost caught Jack Sparrow."

He had longed for so great a time to say it to his father, but now wished to say it to anyone.

He would show his father, who, as far as he was concerned, was looking up at him from Davy Jones's locker. He was going to defy everything his father had taught him and become a pirate, simply because it was the one thing that would have annoyed the hell out of his father.

His father had always told him he was too smart for his own good and that he should have stopped learning when he could have. "My father was a foolish idiot," he said to himself.

His contemplations, examples of game theory, often got him out of trouble and left him with the upperhand in a great many situations. Forget what his father said: he was to be a pirate and the best pirate anyone has ever seen!


	3. Chapter Three: Tortuga

Chapter Three: Tortuga

Jack Sparrow arrived in Tortuga for the first time in his life, three days later. He docked the boat and stepped onto land. He was surprised by how many drunken and grotesque men lingered about, and by the generosity seemingly given by the women. Just a show, he supposed, smiling to himself. The first thought that had occurred to him was that no one could ever feel unloved if the world was like this.

An attractive woman a few years older than him strode up and began stroking his left arm. "You're a handsome one," she said.

"Handsome as a roguish pirate, or handsome as a man soon to be named commodore?" Jack asked.

Without any warning, the girl had kissed Jack so hard he wondered why he hadn't fallen down. "And you're cute," she said.

"I'm in the market for a ship, lass, and nothing more," Jack said. The girl slapped him hard across the face. "Deserved more than that," he said to himself. He knew he had been rude, but he was running from people and did not have time to mingle.

He strode into one of the larger bars and seated himself down at a table. A lady wandered over. "Can I buy you a drink?" she asked, sitting down.

"Yep, you can buy me a drink," said Jack, who was hungry and had very little money.

"What wuld ya like?" she asked. She was very pretty, Jack thought, and had a strange look to her eyes and her hair: almost mystic.

"The favored drink of the house," Jack said, not wanting to sound inexpereinced.

"That be rum," she said, striding over and filling him a pint full.

She sat down and gave him the drink. "Rum," he said. "Rum. Rum, rum, rum, rum, rum. Rum! What is rum?"

The lady smiled. "I thought you had a bit unexperience, lad. Rum's a strong drink. Fit for any man, favored among pirates everywhere. Go ahead, try it."

Jack looked down into the drink. Now that he thought of it, he had remembered his father drinking a drink very similar. Perhaps the same. Shrugging, he took his first sip of rum. His eyes widened and his eyebrows raised. Now this was a drink! It had a flavor about it that was so very appealing to him. He gulped down the rest very quickly.

"Knew you'd like it. You have a strong air of adventure about you. Don't let no one get ye down do ya, Jack Sparrow?"

Jack looked up, surprised. "You know me?"

"I know everybody, Jack. Though you I don't know as well as I would like," she said.

"What's your name?" he asked her, ignoring the last comment.

"Me name? Me name be Tia Dalma, and what be yours?"

"You just said it!" Jack said.

"First rule darlin', always confuse those around ya," Dalma said.

"Like you confuse a dog?" Jack asked.

"Nice try," she said with a mischevious grin.

"Thank you for the drink. Perhaps you can help me. I need to find a crew that can help me man my ship."

"Ah, ya are off te the Isle de Muerta. Ye seek fool's gold, Jack," Dalma told him.

"Then it's fake then, is it?" Jack asked.

"No, 'tis real, though only a fool would go after such gold."

"Ah, but a fool is simply a man without experience, therefore all men were fools at one point, so there is to be no point in avoiding the point of experiencing such a breaking point as that of the point when you're no longer a fool. See my point?"

"Even so, I tell ye not to go after the gold," Tia said.

"Now is it really going after the gold when the gold's not moving? It would be more like going to the gold, wouldn't it?"

"Let me get ta know ya an' perhaps we can work out an arrangement," she told him.

"Perhaps later, lass, I need to be in and out of here as soon as possible. Waste not, you know."

"You want revenge on Alex Denver," Dalma said.

"Can you tell me with which ship he sails and under which captain?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Alex Denver is First Mate to the Captain Dobbs of the _Black Banner_. You wanna be careful with him though, Jack. He's a strong one, he is. Though 'tis good. Ye know whatcha want."

"I want a crew and I want to leave as quickly as possible," Jack said, slightly irritated.

"I can find ya at least one person. Trust Tia Dalma on this one. The two of you were made to be partners. A lasting friendship, a betrayal, revenge, and help where friends are needed remains in store for the two of ya. One moment's moment and I'll be back with ya boy."

She left for a moment and when she had returned, she was accompanied by a tall man with a long beard and piercing eyes. He wore a large black hat and a gleaming smile that seemed somewhat wicked. "Jack Sparrow," she said, "meet Hector Barbossa."


	4. Chapter Four: Sparrow and Barbossa

Chapter Four: Sparrow and Barbossa

"Hello, then," Jack said, greeting Barbossa, who eyed him curiously.

"Well hello der. You'd be Jack? Well den, let us have a drink," Barbossa said, sitting down across from Jack.

"I'll leave the two of ya alone," Dalma said. "And Jack, I'll be seein' you soon, I believe."

Jack gave her a quizzical look then waved goodbye and returned to Barbossa. "Funny lass, that one," he said, feeling a little woozy from the rum.

"Ol' Dalma is a very powerful woman, Jack, don't wanna be messin' wit her lest you think you can handle it," Barbossa warned.

"I believe I can," Jack said in a bit edgier of a tone.

"I believe you can too, Jack," Barbossa said. "Dalma would not have suited me up with someone who could not handle things on their own."

"That's the beauty, now, isn't it?" Jack said, leering into Barbossa's eyes like a madman. "If one could handle things on their own, they wouldn't need a partner, but you see, I came looking for one, so there's really no reason for you to think that one such as I could handle oneself, being myself, be it a thing or another one to handle. Beauty, eh?"

Barbossa laughed. "You seem a bit lax on life, Jack."

"Well, one must be y'know," Jack said, slurring his words as usual.

"Dalma tells me ye have a vessel to sail with. And a flag we'll have to get."

"Black sails," Jack said with a gleam in his eye. "I want a ship with black sails. And rum! Lots of rum!"

Barbossa laughed again. "We'll get ye your rum," he said. "But Jack, are ye ready to sail the Caribbean against many other vigorous pirates?"

"I am the best pirate you will ever see," Jack said, sticking his chest out. "Wouldn't you aquiesce?"

"Aye, you do seem to be a man sharp on 'is feet," Barbossa agreed. "But you've got no mark."

"Bugger," Jack said, disappointed, "you're right. Shall we make one for me?"

"Aye," Barbossa said with a grin. "Let's get ye a right mark."


End file.
